This invention relates to the art of valves and, more particularly, to a selectively operable valve for draining a liquid from a reservoir.
The present invention has particular utility in connection with draining oil from the engine of a motor vehicle and, accordingly, the drain valve of the invention will be disclosed and described in detail with regard to such use. At the same time, however, it will be appreciated that a drain valve in accordance with the invention can be used for draining liquids other than oil and draining liquids from a reservoir other than that provided by the oil pan of a motor vehicle.
It is of course well known that the changing of oil in a motor vehicle requires the removal of a drain plug from the oil pan beneath the vehicle engine. The oil plug is a threaded component and removal thereof is initiated by means of a wrench and generally is completed by a mechanic or do-it-yourself vehicle owner by manually unscrewing the plug from the oil pan. Most often, oil begins to bypass the plug prior to its complete removal from the oil pan and such bypass results in the oil flowing onto the person's hands and/or clothing and then impinging against the collection receptacle which may include a funnel positioned beneath the drain opening in the oil pan. Such impingement against the funnel or other receptacle can result in splashing of the oil onto the person performing the draining operation and/or onto the floor or other surface underlying the vehicle. Further, other spillage often results from the person attempting to minimize his or her exposure to the oil by jerking his or her hand from the drain plug as soon as it is freed from the oil pan. In any event, any oil which ends up on the floor beneath the vehicle is potentially hazardous in that it makes the floor slippery, and is somewhat contaminating in nature in that it can be absorbed into the floor surface and accumulate dirt and other foreign matter. Moreover, used oil is salable and/or reusable, and the oil which ends up on the floor and/or on the person servicing the vehicle is lost for the latter purpose. Still further, the oil which ends up on the person's hands and arms is messy to deal with, and the effort required to clean-up the floor area, the person's hands and arms and clothing is both inconvenient and time-consuming.